


Pipel/Shelper One Shots

by thebigqueer



Category: HoO - Fandom, PJO - Fandom, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan, toa - Fandom
Genre: F/F, Heroes of Olympus, HoO - Freeform, PJO, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Freeform, Rick Riordan - Freeform, Riordanverse - Freeform, Shel, ToA - Freeform, pipel, piper mclean - Freeform, piper x shel, shel x piper, shelper, trials of apollo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:40:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28354836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebigqueer/pseuds/thebigqueer
Summary: just a bunch of shelper one-shots where they fall in love with each other a little more <3
Relationships: Piper Mclean/Shel
Comments: 9
Kudos: 38





	1. Explode

**Author's Note:**

> Okay this is my first pipel/shelper (what's their official shipname y'all??) fanfic and im just. so excited. because for some reason they're just hitting so hard.

I’m not really sure how it happened. One second we were sitting on the beach, shoving our toes into the sand, the saturated air gently caressing our skin. 

And the next, she kissed me, and my life changed forever.

~

“So,” Shelby says, leaning against my locker. “Last day of school.” 

I smile, closing my locker carefully. “Yeah, it sure is.” 

“Isn’t it kinda weird?” she asks, following me as I make my way through the cool, airy halls to the school entrance. “You’ve only been here for, like, two months and you’re already leaving for summer break.” 

I shrug. “I mean, I’m not complaining. The shorter, the better, right?”

Shelby grins at me, and for about the thousandth time around her, my chest heats up with some warm, gooey feeling. It’s so weird how she can do literally anything -  _ anything  _ \- and I’m left to casually pine after her, watch her move gracefully through time and space, wondering how someone could make me question so many things.

I’ve only known her for two months, but it’s amazing how so much can change in just a few weeks. 

For the past eight or so weeks, it’s only been big changes after big changes. First Jason’s death, then the move to Oklahoma. Next came the school change, then all the new classes and clubs and friends. And now it’s this weird identity crisis thing I’ve got going on. 

But change doesn’t have to be a bad thing, does it?

No, it doesn’t. But that doesn’t mean that I’m having a perfectly cheery time trying to handle so many things all at the same time. 

The move was really the least of my problems. I haven’t exactly “fit in” easily, but I’ve made friends faster than I thought I would, and I think that counts for something. Besides, I’m just glad to be out of California.

Now it feels like I can actually breathe, alone and away from the watchful eyes of my dad’s fans and the paparazzi. I always felt like I was on the run from them, just searching for a moment to myself. I can’t even imagine how much life must have sucked for Dad. 

But now, I have a place to root myself in. I can evolve into the flower I’ve always wanted to be. I can figure out more about myself, about my heritage, about who I like and don’t like and who I am. Just everything.

But with so much freedom comes doubt, uncertainty, fear. What will I discover? Who am I? Is this freedom what I’ve always wanted, or is this what I’ve always thought I wanted as an excuse to be angry with the way things used to be? 

I guess I’ll just have to find out. 

The warm afternoon air greets us excitedly the moment we step out of the building, making me a little uncomfortable with the dramatic change in temperature. Shel and I wander over to her car. Usually she drives me home from school, especially on days that I don’t feel like riding the bus. 

“So, you have any plans tonight?” she asks me, but by the nonchalant tone in her voice, I realize that she already has something up her sleeve. 

I raise an eyebrow. “No, not tonight. Why?”

She bites her lip, her pink lips pulling out into a mischievous grin. A small blush takes over her nose and cheeks, covering up her light freckles, and I feel like I’m drowning, drowning, drowning underneath an ocean of feelings and confusion. 

I mean, it isn’t the first time I’ve questioned my sexuality. Honestly, the first time was with Annsbeth - I didn’t know what I was feeling, but every time I was around her I felt some kind of weird attraction to her. Percy is a cool guy, but for some reason I got so annoyed when I saw the two together. 

Not that I had a crush on her or anything. But even then, I think I knew there was something up with me, like I was a mostly-done puzzle but I couldn’t figure out where the last few pieces could go, or how they could fit. 

I felt like something was just… missing about me. Even now I do, too. But at least now I know that this particular puzzle piece - my sexual orientation and my gender identity - has a place. I just need to figure out which direction to put it in. 

“Well,” Shel says, her dark eyebrows jumping, “me and the others are thinking of doing a small party by the beach tonight. Wanna come?”

My face breaks out into tingles, like small sparkles are digging into my pores a little painfully. They say that the heart starts beating faster when one is embarrassed, but in all honesty, my heart has probably just stopped beating forever. I can barely hear it thumping in my chest. 

“Yeah,” I squeak, silently cursing myself for sounding so nervous. “What time?”

She shrugs. “We were thinking around seven? Gus has to leave for a flight to Europe tomorrow in the afternoon, which means he has to get ready early, which means he has to sleep early, which means-” She stops suddenly, realizing she’s rambling, then giggles. “Yeah, you get the point.”

A small laugh escapes from my chest. “Yeah. I guess I’ll see you tonight, then?”

She bobs her head in agreement. “I’ll pick you up. Don’t bring a bathing suit, though - we’re not gonna swim or anything.”

“Got it. Any other fashion advice?”

Shel tilts her head and takes a step back, her eyes roving over me. The ruby in her nose glimmers under the sunlight, gleaming like a star against her light skin. Finally, she gives me a command: “Just come looking cute.” 

She goes around her car to reach the driver’s seat, and I stumble over to her passenger seat. Shel climbs into the car, throws her backpack to the back, then starts the car. 

But she doesn’t start driving. Instead she grins at me as she places her sunglasses in front of her eyes. “Actually,” she says, “you don’t even need to worry about that. You already  _ are _ cute.”

My heart explodes, and a flurry of nervous giggles erupt from inside me.

_ You already  _ are _ cute _ .

It’s about four hours later, and I’m still freaking out over those four words. 

Just four words, and she’s left me a wreck. She said I looked cute, and now I just want to fulfill her expectations of me and wear the most outstanding clothes ever, but at the same time I want it to seem like I’m not trying at all, but at the same time I want to surprise her, but at the same time I don’t want to make it seem like I’m trying too hard, but at the same time…

_ No _ , I tell myself.  _ Stop it. She’s just a girl; you can do this.  _

I think the weirdest part about all this is that I never did this for Jason. With him, I guess I always considered him the “bro” type of boyfriend. With Shel… this is so different. 

With Jason, though, a lot of things were different. For one, it felt too… forced for me. Like we were looking more for comfort and a sense of belonging rather than the love for each other. And, in my case, I think I just didn’t understand myself too much. I thought a boyfriend was what I wanted. Thinking back on it now, though, it feels more like it was comphet. As if I just wanted to block out this confusion in my mind and stay in this still, boring, ignorant aspect of my being. 

Besides, Shelby’s told me about how the first crush on the girl is usually the hardest to get over, anyway. That probably explains why I feel like this around her. 

I’m still rummaging through my closet, trying to find something that would look semi-decent, when my dad calls from downstairs, “Pipes, your friend is here.” 

I almost wince when he says  _ friend _ .

Finally, I decide on just throwing on some shorts and a T-shirt (because I’m oh-so-extra like that), slip on my flip-flops, and rush down the stairs towards the kitchen.

The overhead lights gleam over the furniture in the room. A slow fan whirs to the side, blowing cool air into the room as my dad stands by the stove, chopping up some vegetables. 

My eyes land on Shelby, who’s dressed in some jean shorts and a short sleeve crop top that exposes her midriff. She’s talking to my dad, laughing in her own cute way, and suddenly I want to trap that laugh in a bottle and put it on replay for the rest of my life. 

I can almost hear Leo calling me a mega simp right now. 

Dad turns to me, and a bright smile takes over his face. “Hey, Pipes. Heading out?”

I nod and step towards him, opening my arms wide. He envelopes me into a hug and I whisper, “I’ll see you later.” 

“Have fun, girls,” he says as we head towards the door. “Come back by ten.” 

“You got it, Mr. McLean,” Shelby calls out, opening the door and stepping out into the evening. 

Just as I turn around to close the door, I catch my dad winking at me. “Not too much fun, though,” he whispers. I stick my tongue out at him and slam the door shut.

Sometimes I wish I didn’t tell him that I had a mega crush on Shelby. All he does is tease me now. 

As soon as the door shuts behind me, I realize that Shelby and I are totally and utterly alone, about to journey out to the beach. The warm air suddenly turns chilly at the thought of us being in a car together, just on our own, for a full ten minutes. 

A lot could happen in ten minutes. 

Her car stands in the driveway, shining under the dim glow that pours out from the house. The sun sets slowly, its rays still leaking all through the town, but darkness starts to creep up on us, mixing with the light. 

This time, her ride is a convertible. “You have two cars?”

She shakes her head. “Nah, this is my parent’s car.” Shrugging, she adds, “Just gives me a much sexier vibe when you’re driving a convertible into the sunset, you know?”

I climb into the passenger seat and run my fingers along the headrest, offering her a slyer version of my original grin. “With The Neighbourhood playing, makes it even hotter. Very sapphic, like your brand.”

Shel laughs, and the sound of it seeps through my skin and into my bones, making my blood radioactive. She electrifies me. 

“I like the way you think, McLean.” 

The “meet-up” isn’t exactly a party, but the chaotic energy of the place is off the charts. 

Some people went skinny dipping into the ocean - I don’t even know if that’s allowed - and then two of my other friends are making out in the sand. 

But those aren’t even the freakiest parts of this event. No, it’s actually the part where Shel has her head on my shoulder. Because I can smell her strawberry shampoo and her sweet perfume, and her head shakes when she laughs, and when she laughs her nose wrinkles up in the cutest way, and when her nose wrinkles up like that I just want to melt into a puddle.

The freakiest part is that this isn’t something that would have happened with Jason. Not ever. 

The freakiest part is that this is such a new feeling, and I’m not sure if I like it or not. 

“So, Piper,” Gus calls, and I momentarily forget about the girl who’s leaning against my shoulder. “Got any plans for the summer?”

I almost choke on nothing.  _ Got any plans for the summer?  _ I’m tempted to tell him that yeah, I do - it’s to go back to this totally mythological camp full of demigods (yes,  _ demigods _ ) and see my other friends who are supposed to not exist and train because my life is constantly in danger.

But of course, I don’t say any of that. 

“Yeah,” I mutter, picking at my shorts, “I’m just gonna go to summer camp for a few weeks in August.”

“Hey, that’s cool,” Shel replies. “Where’s your summer camp? I’m going to a sleepaway camp.” 

“Oh, uh…” I’m not sure how much I should tell her. If I said it was on Long Island, would she come up and try to find me? “You know, it’s… up in the North. Where’s yours?”

I’m hasty to change the conversation back to her, just in case suspicion arises. And sure as hell, it certainly has - Shel has her eyebrow raised, but she doesn’t question me further. 

“I’m actually going to the west,” she answers. “To California.” 

This time I raise my own eyebrows. I don’t think there’s any reason I should be nervous, because if she was a demigod I think I would have known. Surely, if she were a demigod, a lot more monsters would come after us.

_ But what if she was? _ I wonder.

I don’t think I want an answer to that question.

“That’s cool,” I tell her, but all I can think about is the events that preceded my move to Oklahoma. Jason’s death is one of the first memories that I think of when I’m reminded of California. 

Gus and Shelby share a look, relaying a secret message, and suddenly Gus announces, “Well, I guess I should head back home now. Got a flight in the morning.” 

“What?” I ask. “But it’s only eight.”

He shrugs. “Gotta pack.” He swivels his head back to his partner, raising his eyebrows. “Wanna help?”

“Yeah.”

The two raise themselves up, wave goodbye, and rush back to their car. I’d be a fool if I didn’t notice Gus winking at Shelby. 

We’re not completely alone, though - some of our other friends are still here. But we’re away from everyone else, in our own little bubble of comfort. The water laps against the sand, carrying its salty scent through the air, wrapping around us like a comfortable blanket. A cool breeze washes over us, and Shel moves a little closer to me. 

“I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” she says quietly. “Do you have a partner, Piper?”

I push gently away from her, surprised by the question. My eyes bug out of my head, and my cheeks bloom with heat. An uncomfortable chill crawls down my back. “Uh… why do you ask?”

She shrugs. “I’ve just been wondering, ‘cause I’ve seen that picture of that blond dude in your locker, and also in your room. Is he your boyfriend?”

She’s talking about Jason. I watch her carefully, gauging her tone of voice, thinking about how she might want to take this conversation. Shel’s eyes peer at me curiously, seriously, like she’s really expecting a real answer. 

A sliver of the sun remains out in the horizon, and some of its light still creeps against the beach, washing us in a golden hue. Stars pop out in the darkened sky, glancing off Shel’s ruby nose ring. Her dark hair gleams underneath all this beauty, and her bright colors stand out against the overcoming darkness. 

It’s so strange, hearing my new crush ask about my dead ex. I turn my head away from her and watch the water licking at the edge of the beach, deciding how to answer. It takes a long while until I finally respond. Longer than it should, because the answer is so easy. 

I just don’t want to say it out loud, because if I do, it makes it all the more real.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” I say finally, crossing my legs and leaning back on my arms. “He’s just my ex.”

Out of curiosity, I tilt my head towards her again, wondering how she’ll react to that. Her eyebrows furrow together. She brings her knees close to her chest and wraps her arms around them. Her light skin glows underneath the darkness and absorbs the remaining sunlight. 

“I see,” she murmurs. “How long ago did you break up?”

I shrug, doing some mental calculations. “I think, like… two or three weeks before I moved. So, like, three months ago? Maybe four months?”

“Oh.” Her voice sounds meek, as if it’s been juiced out of her. She seems faded, deflated even, like a piece of old artwork - still beautiful, but sadder, like time has taken a toll on her. 

I wonder if that’s a good sign for me. Maybe she’s jealous? Despite being reminded of Jason and his death, an inkling of hope sprouts in my chest. She wouldn’t be asking if she didn’t like me too, right?

“Do you two still talk?” she inquires, lifting her head. Now her eyes don’t seem so serious - just sad, like she’s lost hope of something.

I wonder if I should admit to her that he’s dead, that there’s not really much of a chance for me to actually talk to him. But if I admit that to her… Well, if I think I know where things are going, I don’t want to dampen the mood with “No, my boyfriend died in battle with an evil emperor and I’m trying really hard to still cope with it.” 

So, instead, I offer: “Not really, we’ve kind of… fell out, in a sense.”

At this, she seems to perk up a bit, and my chest fills up with a blinding warmth that reaches my cheeks and flows to the very bottom of my feet. “Okay,” she says, speaking as if measuring the weight of these words. “So… Are you still into him?”

This time I have to laugh. “Shelby, are you trying to tell me something?”

She grins at me, her teeth flashing against the growing darkness, and I have to shove my hands into the sand to try to get a grip of the world again, because I’m certain that I’ll float away. 

“Maybe I am,” she murmurs. “Because maybe… there’s someone else that’s into you, and is totally willing to kiss you right now, but isn’t sure if she’s allowed to because you might have another partner somewhere else, or someone else you have feelings for, and she just wants to be sure?”

A bomb seems to be ticking on my heart, counting down the seconds until I explode from a wide range of feelings and confusion and excitement and just pure  _ emotions _ . I’m a chemical reaction about to go terribly wrong; I’m a carbonated drink about to fizz out after being shaken for what seems like hours. I’m just about to combust. 

“Shel…”

“Listen,” she murmurs, a nervous smile balancing itself on her lips. It’s a strange sight, because usually she’s anything  _ but  _ nervous. “I know that… that you just moved a few months ago, and you still have so much to figure out, and maybe you only  _ now  _ realized you might be queer, but… Piper, god damn, I really like you. I don’t know what it is, really, but something about you just makes me… You make me spark in the best way.” 

She takes a deep breath, as if she’s just spent all her air, then exhales again. “You’re just so  _ you _ . So imperfectly you. So beautifully you. I really just like you a lot.” 

I have to cover my mouth with my hands before an eruption of totally awkward giggles flow out of my mouth. Shelby’s breathing a little harder than average, as if she’s just run a short marathon. A wild look takes over her dark eyes, like a mad scientist who’s just figured out time travel. 

Words try to form on my tongue, but as soon as I break apart my lips to say something, they die just as soon as they’re born. My hands find themselves to my cheeks and I squish my face, because I really don’t know what else to do to express how positively exasperated I am.

“I have no idea what to say,” I finally whisper. 

“Say anything,” she whispers back. 

“I like you,” I say. “I like you a lot.” 

Her face breaks out into a wild, crazy, gorgeous grin, and my heartbeat spikes up to the max, going so fast that I could be fooled into thinking it’s running a marathon and is trying to escape my chest.

“Can I kiss you?” she asks.

“You don’t even need to ask.” 

Time seems to both speed up and slow down; I’m too hot and too cold and too  _ everything _ . My lips tingle as soon as hers touch mine, and my fingers search for the back of her neck. They find it just as she pulls me closer, closer, until there’s barely any room between us. Her own fingers tangle themselves in my hair, and her other arm touches my waist, and suddenly I feel like I’m living in a music video for The Neighbourhood. Just insanely hot and slow and full of desire. 

I’m kissing Shelby. I’m kissing a  _ girl _ . 

And I fucking love it. 

I can’t tell if it’s been hours or minutes or days or seconds or months or years when we pull apart, but I certainly know I don’t even care how long it’s been. I just kissed Shelby, my first girl crush, and that’s literally all that matters.

I just kissed my first  _ girl _ .

I feel giddy, maybe even high. I doubt this is what being on a high is like, but I feel as though a spark has been lit inside me. The world is saturated in color, in a rainbow, more beautiful than I could have imagined. All because of one kiss.

“Well,” she murmurs, smiling sweetly. “That sure was something.” 

I laugh and lean my head against hers. My arms shake as I wrap them around her shoulders. “Yeah.”

“First kiss with a girl?” she asks. 

“How’d you guess?”

“You seemed to like it  _ a lot _ .”

I laugh again, this time a little more self-consciously. “That obvious?”

“Uh, yeah.” She bows her head against my neck and shoulder, and I feel her breathing against my body. “But I’m glad you liked it.” 

I hum in response. Another cool breeze brushes past us, but I can barely feel it with Shel’s warm body against mine. She still has her fingers in my hair, and she’s brushing my neck softly, her fingers as light as the air. 

“Where do we go from here?” I ask her. 

“Where do you want to go, Piper?”

I pull away from her a bit, so that we can see eye-to-eye again, and smile. “I want to go on a date.” 

“Are you asking me out?”

I kiss her again. “Does that answer your question?”

She bites her lip thoughtfully, but her eyes dance under the stars playfully. A soft laugh bubbles out of her.

“I don’t know,” she murmurs, pulling herself closer to me. “Mind doing it again?”


	2. Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a homecoming dance between Shel & Piper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this fic, Piper's nonbinary and uses she/they pronouns

The wind bites the bare skin on my neck. For a November evening, it’s a little chillier than I’m used to, but that probably has to do with the fact that I’m also not wearing a jacket, like an idiot.

Teenagers’ voices echo through the parking lot, bouncing off cars and seeping into my ears. The days have been becoming shorter and shorter, the light slinking away more hurriedly each night as if intimidated by the looming darkness. 

Piper stands next to me, their hand in mine. The moonlight slashes across her face, washing half of it with a pale blue hue while the other half is covered by the golden light bleeding out from the school. They look like some kind of primordial goddess, half darkness and half light.

Each time I look over at her, my chest seems to close up. Tonight there’s something electric about her. They’re wearing a silver dress that reaches down to her ankles, blanketing over her body and making her sparkle in the moonlight. A beautiful silver necklace rests against their neck, with sparkling earrings to match. Her hair dangles down the sides of her face in brown curls in a half-up/half-down style, and a silver clip holds their hair together. 

It isn’t her outfit that’s making her electric, though. I can’t quite place it, but Piper looks… livelier. Free. Ready to take on the world. It’s like she’s been itching to have this chance to herself, like she’s wanted nothing more in life than to come to a high school dance with moody teenagers. 

They look at me, a glossed-over smile lacing their mouth. Her voice drips from her lips, coating me in her sweetness. “You ready to head inside?”

I smile back and place hold out my fingers for them to take. “I sure am.” 

She leans into me, her bare arms brushing against my own. Then she twirls her fingers out of my grasp and circles her arm around my waist, pulling me closer. They lean their head against my shoulder and sigh. “You look really pretty, you know.”

I shrug and grin. “Yeah, I know.” 

My mom and I were quite proud of ourselves when we found the outfit. A red strapless dress that balances just above my knees, and black flats with tiny little bows to top them off. I have a black headband wrapped around my head to match. When Piper saw me, she started laughing and said I looked like a devil. 

A cool breeze brushes past us, chilling me down to my bones. The doors to the gym are open wide, spilling pulsating blue and purple lights to the dark sidewalk. Music thrums against the concrete, buzzing under the ground and resonating in my bones. 

Electricity sparks in the air, filled with anticipation of what’s ahead in the night. The music from inside the gym drowns the laughter outside. There’s a flutter in my chest, a knot in my stomach. It suddenly hits me that this is my first dance with Piper. 

Oh, great, no big deal. Just that you are your partner’s first girlfriend and you have no idea how to handle that.

I mean, she did say yes to my homecoming proposal, but what if she doesn’t actually want to be here? What if she’s only here for my sake?

I must be expressing my doubt, because Piper frowns at me and asks, “Are you okay?”

Nodding, I swallow down my worry and offer them a shaky smile. “Yeah, I’m good.”

She lets her arm dangle away from my waist and squeezes my fingers. “Good. Because I am  _ so _ gonna beat you to the snacks table and eat all the mini Oreos there.” 

Adrenaline pushes through my veins and I swivel my head around, trying to find the table. By the time I find it, Piper’s already racing towards the table, grinning at me. 

For a moment, I forget about my nerves and grin despite myself. “Don’t you dare! I’m on the track team!”

The night rushes by in a blur, the minutes melting into one another and turning into hours. The night turns wilder, filled with more violent shades of colors, crowded with the bodies of people, the heat suffocating. 

But it’s not a bad feeling. Uncomfortable, sure, but not absolutely unbearable. Electricity pulses in the air, euphoria coursing through all of us. The beat of the music pounces under our feet and in thrums in our ears, and laughter rings in the air every second. 

Piper’s been close to me all night, never leaving my side. She laughs against me, her body vibrating with her voice, and I can’t help but to be absolutely mesmerized. It’s so strange how they can do just about anything and make it seem significant and with purpose, like everything they do is calculated and well-thought out. 

She’s so absolutely perfect. 

Sometimes I like to just look at her. Her hair, her nose, the side of her cheek. The way their smile edges shyly to the side, a little crooked. But that’s what makes her beautiful - their complete disregard for the norms, for embracing their imperfections. 

A lot of people say that they don’t really care about others liking them or what others think about them. But with Piper, it seems like she’s the physical embodiment of that claim. She really  _ doesn’t _ care. That makes her all the more beautiful. 

I guess I’m too engrossed in staring at her because after a few moments, I hear someone call my name. “Hmm?” I murmur, tilting myself towards Piper. 

“Dude, I was calling you, like, five times,” Piper murmurs, her voice saturated with irritation.

I grin at them. “Sorry, I was too caught up in your gorgeousness.”

Piper rolls their eyes. “I was asking if you wanted to dance.” She gestures to the dance floor, which blooms with a cooler blue light, splashing against the floors and walls like water. A soft, slow song flows through the speakers, murmuring in my ears. Piper raises a nervous eyebrow and smiles sheepishly. “Thought we could dance because, well… cliché slow dance, you know? High school dream, yada yada.”

I nudge Piper. “Getting soft on me, McLean?”

She shoves me with her shoulder. “You wish.” 

“Well…” I smile at her and lend out my fingers to her. “If you would do me the honor, your highness, I would love to take you for a dance.”

I don’t miss the slight hesitance in their eyes, waiting just a second. I mean, it’s nothing new - I’ve noticed this happen with her a few times. Piper doesn’t seem uncomfortable, per say, more like surprised. Shocked that they’re here, as if this isn’t just some dream. 

Then she takes my fingers, and my body explodes in bursts of warmth. Their fingers spark against my own, electricity spiking underneath my skin. I almost lose my breath, though I’m not quite sure why.

A small smile spreads through her lips, lighting up their face, and I can’t help it when one takes over my own mouth. The moment feels a little surreal, to be honest. As if we aren’t quite existing. 

She leads me to the center of the dance floor, her fingers edging me along. The skin of my wrist brushes against their palm, and I shiver at the touch. Goosebumps prickle against my arms.

Piper stops in an empty place. Not a lot of couples are out here, which is both overwhelming and just perfect at the same time. This might mean that more eyes will be on us, but at the same time, we’ll feel more alone. Take the time for ourselves. 

She loops both her arms around my neck, so that our bodies curve into each other, leaving almost no place cold and empty. Only warmth.

My hands drift to their waist and I press my thumb against the side of her stomach, feeling the muscles underneath. Piper’s warm, so warm, and suddenly each place on my body that doesn’t have their touch feels absent, bitten by the loneliness of her heat.

My eyes land on Piper’s face, gleaming in the blue light of the gym. The lighting makes everything look awfully terrible, to be perfectly honest, but somehow they still manage to be gorgeous. A lone shining star in the dark sky, grasping the attention of any onlookers.

Her lips move, and it takes a moment for me to understand that she’s talking to me. “Huh?” I ask, raising my voice to cover up the volume of the music. 

“I said you look very gorgeous!” Piper exclaims, their eyes squinting under the strain of being heard over the music. Her lips sparkle under the LED lights, twinkling like diamonds.

“Thank you!” I reply, my mouth quirking into a smirk. “So do you!”

They laugh and bow their head towards mine, and in response, I do the same. For a moment we sway in the light, listening to the wave of music pouring over us, the scent of perfume and sweaty bodies lingering in their air. I pull my face to her neck on instinct, the warmth of her skin blooming through my body. 

She feels so nice. I can’t even explain it.

“You know,” they murmur, their lips grazing my ear, “this is… really nice.”

I grin into her neck. “Oh, yeah? Why’s that?”

Piper pulls their face away from mine, a sincere and serious frown pulling at her lips. “It’s just… It’s been kinda hard trying to discover all these hidden parts of my identity. I didn’t really  _ realize _ I was queer until I came here, or that I was nonbinary. And I’m still figuring that out. And you’re my first girlfriend.” Her frown eases out into a smile, tranquilly beautiful. The shift in her expression reminds me of a rainbow breaking through a rough thunderstorm, making the surroundings seem a little less real and a little more beautiful. “I guess I just want to say… thank you for sticking through it all.” A sigh escapes her lips and they turn their eyes away for a second, then pull back to mine. “This, right here at homecoming with you... it’s just one of those things you remember for a while.” A light takes over her eyes. My chest feels restricted, as if I can’t quite breathe properly. “I’m glad that you’re my first girlfriend.”

I feel like I’m about to combust, explode right here. The bright smile on my face does nothing to truly express my gratitude for her words. My heart beats and beats and beats, thrumming in my chest, pumping as if I were running a marathon.

Their fingers graze the back of my neck, then brush against the side of my face, her touch just a whisper against my skin. “I’m glad to be here with you.”

“Piper…,” I murmur, but that's all I can manage before my voice cracks and chokes itself. Words form and die on my tongue, and I’m left to stutter and stumble. 

She smiles. “Don’t get sappy on me, Shel.”

But I can’t exactly help it. I’m here at homecoming, with one of the most beautiful people I’ve ever met, and they basically just said I was one of the best things to ever happen to them.

The entire setting seems surreal. As if we aren’t exactly real and alive, just merely fragments of someone’s imagination. We’re smudges in the great big beyond.

With their arms around me and her scent wrapping around us, we’re almost the only people in the room. The people around us fade out of existence, leaving us in the quiet darkness. Even the music fades away, edging away into some eternal abyss.

Piper’s so electric. Everything about her dazzles, gleaming in the light. Spotlights dance around us, reflecting against her body. Their eyes sparkle, ethereally gorgeous. A flowery scent overcomes me, washing my brain with the image of that fateful summer’s evening when we first kissed. 

I push my fingers against her face and lean in. Their face tilts to mine, already expecting what’s going to happen next.

Time slows and speeds up, unwinding before us. It’s like all the components that make up the universe are suddenly breaking apart just by the sheer power of our chemistry. We’re an unstable force, ready to destroy anything in our path. I brush my lips against hers, tentatively at first, almost as if asking for permission to go further.

Her lips move against mine, and I take that as my cue to dive in, sink into this abyss with nothing but my admiration for her tying me down. Piper’s arms tighten against my neck, their arms brushing against the bare skin at my collar, and I move my arms to tug her forward, closer, etching to get as much of her as I can.

Maybe we go on for seconds, minutes, maybe even hours. I wouldn’t be able to tell. Time stops whenever I’m around them, stopping any and all coherent thoughts right in their tracks. For all I know, I could pull out of this kiss and wake up in the Bahamas and not even care how I got there, as long as she’s with me.

Then she pulls out of the kiss and touches her forehead against mine. I grip her waist like it’s the only thing keeping me from falling, falling from this world. 

And we sway together to the music, dancing to a beat of our own making.


End file.
